11. Dirty Harry (1971) – Scorpio Killer

Detective Harry Callahan, better known as Dirty Harry, is left face to face with the Scorpio Killer, the guy who’s been terrorizing San Francisco and pretty much annoying the crap out of Harry.  So finally now that he’s got the upper hand he has only one thing left to say: I know what you’re thinking, punk. You’re thinking “did he fire six shots or only five?” Now to tell you the truth I forgot myself in all this excitement. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and will blow you head clean off, you’ve gotta ask yourself a question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk?

12. The Godfather (1972) – Santino ‘Sonny’ Corleone

It’s the film that the studio didn’t want anyone that Coppola cast to be in the film.  After weeks of shooting the studio said it wasn’t ‘violent’ enough and hired a violence expert to consult with Coppola on specific sequences.  He then went out to film the death of Vito’s first son, Sonny.  To this day it’s parodied and celebrated.  I like to look back at Bonnie and Clyde as an inspiration for how this scene looks, but it definitely does stand on its own as one of the best of all time.

13. Chinatown (1974) – Evelyn Mulwray

After spending the entire film watching Evelyn and J. J. Gittes getting to the bottom of this conspiracy Evelyn is killed.  She finally decides to flee her Noah and she’s gunned down at a distance and all we hear is the sound of the horn as Evelyn’s now lifeless head is pressing against the steering wheel and we’re treated to the memorable line “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown”.

14. The Godfather: Part II (1974) – Don Fanucci

In the first film we saw the end of Vito Corleone and the rise of Michael, here we go into the back-story of Vito and how he became The Godfather.  This included assassinating Don Fanuucci, the local don that was abusing his influence and making all the citizens feel frightened rather than protected.  So Vito decides for the progression of his family and friends that Fanucci must die, so he decides to make him an offer he can’t refuse.

15. Jaws (1975) – Opening Scene

How can this scene not be mentioned.  The animatronic shark used to represent Bruce wasn’t yet ready, but the film needed to start filming.  So Spielberg decided to shoot a sequence where a drunk teen was killed without us ever seeing the shark, we just see her being shoved around in the water.  It’s frightening and still amazes me every time I watch the film.

16. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) – The Black Knight

King Arthur has come to an impasse as he encounters The Black Knight.  So he must fight him for the right to continue on his journey.  What ensues is the most hilarious medieval sword fight scene I’ve ever seen.  Some may argue that we don’t see The Black Knight ‘dead’, but he ends up without any limbs so it’s easy to say that if this movie were set in reality he would be dead, or soon die due to a loss of blood.

17. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) –Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi

The old guru who takes Luke out into space after his parents have been murdered and begins Luke’s teachings as a Jedi is cut down by Darth Vader.  The fight isn’t exactly the best choreographed fight scene you’ll ever see, but it definitely is one of those moments that stays with you.

18. Alien (1979) – Kane

It’s the first time we see a crew member who’s been affected by the pods is being murdered by the ‘baby’ aliens.  We see Kane basically give birth to the alien that Ripley has to defeat if she wants to survive this ordeal.  It’s violent and will forever be referenced throughout cinema.

19. Apocalypse Now (1979) – Col. Walter E. Kurtz

Capt. Ben Willard is on a mission to head up the river to find Col. Kurtz who’s gone off the deep end and assassinate him.  When Willard finally murders Kurtz it’s not just a matter of keeping our eyes on the end of Kurtz but just keeping our eyes on the screen.  Coppola cuts in the slaughtering of a cow by the natives to parallel the cutting down of Kurtz and it’s more than brutal, it’s surreal.

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